Efforts to preserve citrus farm take on urgency

Dec. 5, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Oranges dangle from a tree at the Sexlinger family orange grove in 2008. People who want to designate the site as historic said that the orchard is commercially viable. "This original five-acre heritage orchard ... is an archetypal representative of an era when small-scale citrus growers and modest family farms were the backbone of California's agricultural industry," Statistical Research Inc. wrote in a letter to the city. FILE PHOTO: JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE REGISTER

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A sign wards off would-be trespassers at the Sexlinger orange grove in 2008. A city report said the property has about 250 trees, while preservationists said they counted about 230 trees by walking along the perimeter of the property. "Too many of our city's young people and new residents, even long time residents for that matter, have no idea of the agricultural history of Santa Ana," Sylvia M. Salenius wrote in a letter to the city in support of giving the property historic designation. FILE PHOTO: JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE REGISTER

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The Sexlinger house stands near Portola Park in Santa Ana in 2008. The house was built in 1913 by Perry V. Grout, who sold it soon after to George and Sophia Sexlinger. Members of their family lived in it until 2006. The current owners, including the Concordia University Foundation, said in a letter to the city, "Because it is not economically feasible to operate the orchard, and because the current home is in dilapidated condition, it is very unlikely that we will receive any economically feasible offers to purchase the property" if it had historic designation. FILE PHOTO: JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE REGISTER

Oranges dangle from a tree at the Sexlinger family orange grove in 2008. People who want to designate the site as historic said that the orchard is commercially viable. "This original five-acre heritage orchard ... is an archetypal representative of an era when small-scale citrus growers and modest family farms were the backbone of California's agricultural industry," Statistical Research Inc. wrote in a letter to the city.FILE PHOTO: JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE REGISTER

SANTA ANA – While the citrus on the site gradually changes from green to orange, a series of deadlines is looming regarding the fate of the Santa Ana's Sexlinger farmhouse and orchard.

The two most immediate are a Dec. 17 deadline for public comment on a proposed environmental study of the 5-acre site, and a Jan. 15 deadline to submit offers to the property owner to purchase it.

Preservationists are trying to spread the word that the fate of the property – an artifact of the days when citrus ranches dotted Orange County – is at stake.

"There's nothing else like it in the county, and it would be a shame to lose it," said Jeannie Gillett, who leads a group seeking to preserve the site. "It's very much worth the effort trying to get people aware, and doing whatever they can to help."

The property should be saved, preservationists contend, because of its characteristics – a productive Valencia orchard with some 230 trees sitting alongside the property's original residence, dating from an era when small-scale citrus growers helped shape Southern California's culture and economy. They envision an urban agricultural center where children could learn about the county's past and how food is grown.

When she died in 2006, Martha Sexlinger, the last member of the family to live on the property, donated it to Concordia University Foundation and Orange Lutheran High School.

The owners' plan has been to seek city approval to develop the property with 24 single-family homes. The property is on the 1500 block of East Santa Clara Avenue near Portola Park.

The Save Our Orchard Coalition, after failing to convince the city's Historic Resources Commission, in June won City Council designation of the century-old farmhouse and Valencia orchard as historic.

That set the stage for a revision of an environmental study that had been prepared.

The revision takes into account the historic listing, adds a new alternative and resulted in a name change for the report: "Sexlinger Farmhouse and Orchard Residential Development Project."

While previous drafts included alternatives ranging from "no build' to development of the site with 24 homes, the new study includes a hybrid proposal that City Planning Manager Karen Haluza said arose from Aug. 7 discussions of an ad hoc committee of the Historic Resource Commission.

It would result in the Sexlinger house and an outbuilding being moved to the northeast corner of the property on about 21,000 square feet, keeping about 20 to 30 trees on that portion intact and reducing the residential project to 21 homes. While that would save the house from demolition, "the residence and ancillary building's original orientation, immediate setting and general environment will not convey its historic significance," the draft says.

"I think they're thinking that it's a nice compromise to keep some of the orchard," Gillett said. "But it doesn't protect the historic resource."

Proponents of preserving the Sexlinger house and orchard say that, taken as a whole, it shows what citrus production looked like a century ago.

"We feel any hybrid is such a drastic impact on the overall integrity of the property," said Nick Spain, who has been active in the conservation effort, "that it relegates it to something that you would put on a mantle somewhere."

Even with the historic designation granted by the city and the impact that development would have on the Sexlinger site, demolition could take place and construction on housing could be approved if the city finds the public benefits of the project outweigh the environmental impacts.

"In order to permit this, the City Council would have to adopt a 'Statement of Overriding Considerations,' which would list the reasons why the benefits outweigh the impacts," Haluza said. "In the case of the Sexlinger Farmhouse and Orange Orchard development, the demolition of the house and orchard would constitute a significant impact to a cultural resource that cannot be mitigated, which would then require a 'Statement of Overriding Considerations' should the council wish to approve the project."

The environmental-review process also needs to be completed, she said, a process expected to take until April.

Since the City Council made its decision, the Save Our Orchard Coalition has given rise to a new organization, The Old Orchard Conservancy. It has received nonprofit status from the state, and is awaiting its designation as a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization from the IRS, said Gillett, the coalition's president.

Both sides in negotiations over purchase of the property agreed to keep the discussions confidential.

Gillett and Spain, a board member of the conservancy, said that while the organization has raised funds in the thousands of dollars, the cost of the land is in the millions. Spain said that the land, if kept agricultural, would be worth about $2 million, based on comparisons with similar-sized agricultural parcels in Southern California.

"The asking price is significantly higher," Spain said.

Finding funding for land acquisition has been a time-consuming challenge.

"It's kind of discouraging," Gillett said. "People like the idea, they just don't come forward with either the cash or the commitment of time. It takes a lot of time, and I appreciate that people have families, work and all that. We have just such a short time frame to make something happen."

Spain said the organization would like to get more time to raise money, but said it will need to have an amount in the six-figure range to enter into a purchase agreement.

"The best compromise is if property can be preserved as resource, and the property owners get paid for it," he said.

Jan. 15, 2013 – Deadline to submit purchase offers or alternatives for preservation. The city’s Historic Resources Commission is expected to receive the information at its meeting on Jan. 24, 2013. Although Jan. 15 is the deadline, “it would not preclude any interested party from continuing to contact or work with the property owner on preservation alternatives outside of the city process,” said city Planning Manager Karen Haluza.

Feb. 7, 2013 – A 240-day period ends that began in June with the property owners filing a notice of intent to demolish the Sexlinger site. The time period, under city law, is designed to give the Historic Resources Commission time to look into alternatives to demolition.

Feb. 11, 2012 - The revised draft environmental study, as well as the tract map and variance request that are also part of the development project, are scheduled to be considered by the city Planning Commission.

March 4, 2013 – The same items are scheduled to be heard by the City Council. If the council approves the project and certifies the draft environmental study, a “notice of determination” for the draft EIR would be filed on March 5, beginning a 30-day protest period, Haluza said. .

April 5, 2013 – The protest period would end. “This would conclude the environmental review process after which time, the code states that a demolition permit must be issued,” Haluza said.

April 8, 2013 – The earliest the city could issue a demolition permit, based on the outlined schedule, Haluza said

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